BlackBerry resumes BBM rollout for rival phones

BlackBerry resumes BBM rollout for rival phones

Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry has resumed the rollout of its popular chat application BBM on rival Android-based handsets and iPhones.

"This is the news you’ve been waiting for. . . we are about to officially resume our rollout of BBM for Android and iPhone customers around the globe!

"In the next few hours, people will start seeing BBM in Google Play, the App Store and in select Samsung App Stores -- where it will be free to download, BlackBerry EVP Andrew Bocking said in a post on the company's official blog late on Monday night.

BlackBerry resumes BBM rollout for rival phones

In September, BlackBerry had paused the global rollout of its instant messaging service BBM on rival phones, blaming the delay on issues caused by an unreleased old version of BBM (BlackBerry Messenger).

The demand for BBM on Android and iPhone continues to be amazing. About six million people signed up for information about BBM at BBM.com, he added.

Bocking further said: "As you know, in just seven hours, about one million Android users were using the unreleased version of BBM for Android.

"What you don’t know is that more than one million people have found creative ways to 'side load' BBM on their iPhone. This is incredible.